Magic hope Price is right for Dwight Howard

All-time free-throw king helping Howard at line

The elephant in the room was Dwight Howard's wayward free-throw shooting. Not the only elephant, mind you.

There were plenty of pachyderms outside the Magic's practice door Saturday at Amway Center, what with the circus in town.

"I just think everybody needs to stop talking about it," Howard said. "There's more to life than free throws."

More to life than free throws?

Mark Price might have fainted if he had heard that.

Price is not only the Magic's player-development coach, but he is the greatest free-throw shooter in NBA history.

Price is trying to toss Howard, drowning in a sea of misses, a lifeline.

For Howard, this is like turning to Stephen Hawking to help with your math homework or balance your checkbook.

Howard has been working with Price for the past two weeks, off and on. Obviously, Dwight has been more off than on, as he missed 18 free throws Thursday night against Golden State in a record 39 attempts.

Price noted that he reacted to the Warriors' strategy by making nine in a row in one stretch.

Dwight is shooting an icy 45.9 percent, down from a seven-year career average of 59 percent.

Price can't really relate. He shot 90.4 percent during his 12-year career, mostly with Cleveland. And get this: He missed only 16 free throws during an entire season (289-of-305) when he led the NBA at 94.8 percent in 1992-93.

"What do they say? 'Rome wasn't built in a day.' Dwight's struggled, but I feel good about where we're headed," Price said Saturday. "It's baby steps. It's sometimes two steps forward, two steps back."

Howard's confidence has been rocked. He practiced his free throws last summer, hiring Ed Palubinskas, who bills himself as "The Shooting Surgeon General."

Well, Price, 47, has had to do some reconstructive surgery on Howard's mechanics.

"We're making a few changes here and there," Price said.

For example, Price now has Howard starting his shooting form higher rather than lower, reducing the margin of error when he brings the ball to its release point. He wants Howard to use the same stroke repeatedly. He wants Howard using his legs more.

A four-time All-Star point guard, Price has no doubt Howard will improve. He previously worked as a shooting consultant with Memphis, Atlanta and Golden State, and had success in increasing free-throw percentages.

"My credibility speaks for itself," he said.

Price is the league's best-ever at the line — at least he still will be heading into today's action. You see, even though he has been retired for 14 years — his final season was with the Magic — Price still tracks Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash's trips to the line.

Price and Nash are both listed at the top of the all-time list at a rounded-off 90.4 percent. But when you extrapolate their numbers, Mark is a few decimal points ahead.

Price is at .903895004, and Nash is at .903691814.

Price made 2,135 out of 2,362 free-throw attempts in his career, while Nash has made 2,815 out of 3,115. And Nash can go back ahead or fall further behind tonight when the Suns face the Sacramento Kings.

More to life than free throws?

"Mark knew that Nash was 3-for-5 the other night [against Cleveland]," Coach Stan Van Gundy laughed of the good-natured competition. "They're jockeying back and forth."

The Magic would be happy if Price can turn Howard into a 70 percent free-throw shooter.

"The fun part for me is seeing guys improve," Price said. "I'm not looking for any glory."